El-Fadel came to Maine in 2004 after being forced from his home in Darfur, Sudan. El-Fadel was previously on New Mainers Speak in August (NMS 188) and September (NMS 191) of 2018. He continues to share his stories and his insights regarding all he has learned throughout his epic journey, to date. This interview was timed well to coincide with Thanksgiving. There are few people more grateful for what they have than he.In this segment El-Fadel focuses on the way people from his village show respect to elders. He also helps listeners to understand the powerful respect Sudanese people feel for the earth and the very dirt from which all life flows. He discusses the way they grow their foods, find their well water, make their homes of mud bricks and grasses (also born of the earth) and even make their toys from the hard baked clay earth. Their gratitude and thanksgiving always starts with a respect for the earth and soil that make life possible and holds us at the end of our lives.

For regularly updated news about Sudan, El-Fadel suggests Darfur Women Action Group. If you wish to book El-Fadel to speak at a school event he can be reached at Elfadelfcr@gmail.com.

El-Fadel watched his house and village burn when he was 12 years old. What followed were ten years of running, hiding, escaping genocide and childhood slavery. While he might have been a boy in school he was leading a very difficult life. That is why he values education and appreciates all his elders ever taught him. He came to the US in 2004 and started learning English. Now he works with students to cultivate compassion and share information about his life and the political realities of war and genocide. He is also working two jobs and is going to finish his high school diploma (through Adult Education) in just 10 more credits. El-Fadel believes that if you have money for one month that is enough, the real richness of life comes from "raising others up." He has many awards and certificates recognizing the humanitarian work he does with youth. He supports the efforts being done by other groups here in the US: STAND and Darfur Women Action Group. If you wish to book him for a school event he can be reached at Elfadelfcr@gmail.com.

Ekhlas Ahmed arrived in Maine in 2005 at the age of twelve. Her family came from Darfur, Sudan. She tells the story of her first day on the school bus in Maine and how she vowed after that to never be voiceless again. Ekhlas attended King Middle School, Casco Bay High School and the University of Southern Maine. Now she works for AmeriCorps and teaches English to immigrant students back at her alma mater. She also leads the Make it Happen program there, which helps immigrant students through the college application process.

Ekhlas offers an alternative view of Darfur aside from the war there, sharing her impressions of the beauty, people's warmth and acceptance. While visiting relatives in Sudan she became inspired to raise funds to help complete the building of a local school. She is selling calendars to help raise the needed $5,000.

As founding member, Ekhlas explains that Darfur Youth of Tomorrow is a small organization in Portland, ME for survivors of genocide. It is a young women's peer support circle.Ekhlas recites "How Could We Forget You?" in Arabic. It is a poem she wrote for her extended family which will be included in a book called The Bridge Between which she continues to write.Music: Sudanese vocalist Hissan Asidge sings "In the Diaspora."*On Feb 16th Ekhlas was flown out to be on Ellen. They are going to sell her calendars in the online store.

Linda Nag was born in Sudan and raised in Egypt before coming to Portland at the age of 16. She attended Portland High School and then went into JobCorps and AmeriCorps. Linda returned to Maine and is happy to be around family again and likes to help care for her four younger sisters. She is presently a full-time college student with plans to become a surgical nurse.